Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 48 of 48
After football season ended in the state 1B quarterfinals, Colton players went to the gym Monday, Nov. 21, joining five others who had been at basketball practice the previous week. Nick Simons is their new coach, taking over for Jason Shull, who spent two seasons with the Wildcats after Seth Paine's 2014 state championship team. “I think we have a lot of athletes, a lot of kids that work hard,” said Simons. “We just have to put it all together. I think we'll be playing our best baske...
Abby Kelly of Colton puts up a shot for Colton while Alexie Smith attempts to block in the Friday girls game. Colton girls Friday night hit the boards at Colfax running and defeated the Bulldog girls 58-37 in the season opener for both teams. The Wildcats, who are starting the season with three grads off last year's 1B championship team, posted a 25-16 lead at the break and then came out in the third quarter to bomb 24 points to top the Bulldogs. Colton's shooters put down 18 of their 24 third...
Munir Daud, city engineer for Palouse, hopes to issue a bid for the city's West Whitman Street project in mid-December, with opening date set Feb. 1. “That's the plan,” Daud said. Bid documents now await approval by the state Transportation Improvement Board, which awarded Palouse a $370,000 grant for the work in November 2015. Palouse Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin and Clerk-Treasurer Kyle Dixon met Oct. 11 with representatives from Washington State Department of Transportation. Originally set to be done in 2016, the project was...
The Pullman Police Department Tuesday afternoon announced a reward fund to obtain information which leads to the arrest of individuals wanted for hate crimes. The account has started at $1,500. In November, a vehicle owned by a WSU student was allegedly painted with messages that police classified as malicious harassment. The reward fund was started by Pullman resident Terry Day. Day said he and his wife were "appalled by the hate vandalism" and decided that a reward fund might be helpful to elicit information from the public. He offered $500...
The Colfax Downtown Association has changed the time of the tax incentive workshop slated for Friday, Dec. 9. The workshop will now start at 2:30 p.m., instead of 10 a.m., at the McGregor Training Center on Airport Road. The time was changed to accommodate those who plan to attend the funeral for Larry Jones at 11 a.m. Friday at the Peace Lutheran Church. The workshop will have computer access so those who attend can start working on applications through the Department of Revenue to pledge business and operation (B&O) taxes to the Downtown...
A Dodge Ram crashed into the Exclusively Yours site on Spring Street Nov. 10. Exclusively Yours has relocated while the building is being repaired. Exclusively Yours proprietor Kristi Geier is no stranger to different store fronts in Colfax. Since moving back to Colfax with her husband in 1990, she has operated a hair salon in various locations in downtown Colfax. “I've been all over town,” Geier said. Geier has relocated her salon to Myndi's Studio M on Spring Street. She was forced to rel...
The City of Palouse passed an ordinance Nov. 22 to reduce the speed limit at the south entrance of town. The change decreases the speed on a stretch of Highway 27 from 45 to 25 miles per hour for safety concerns. Needing approval by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), it is unclear how long this may take. “I don't know, I've never done it before,” said Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove. The city's effort follows two accidents this fall. The Highway 27 incidents prompted Pal...
Drivers of two vehicles which were involved in a collision on Highway 195 south of Pullman early last Tuesday, Nov. 29. were unhurt. Cory Dickinson, Pullman, was driving a 2004 Mazda pickup northbound at 4:45 a.m. and lost control on the icy highway 4.7 miles south of Pullman. The pickup slid across the highway and collided with a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer being driving by Cole Bryan, Pullman. Monday, Thomas McGrath of Tekoa was unhurt when he lost control of a Ford F150 pickup truck about a half-mile north of Tekoa. McGrath was driving southbound...
A donation of Christmas lights has helped the Endicott Community Club to put up vibrant light displays in parks around town, including this animated train display. Endicott has some new light displays this year. Thanks to an anonymous donation, the Endicott Community Club was able to put up lights at the multi-flora park and the Whitgro park across the street from the food center, as well at the Anderson lot kitty-corner to the Endicott Food Center. “They're all over town,” said Cinda Tri...
County Public Works Director Mark Storey informed county commissioners Monday of a two-week extension for a road closure on Sand Road – part of a $1.8 million project to improve safety over four miles near Pullman. After rain in October caused delays, Storey talked with contractors and decided against re-opening the road while work continues on one shoulder. “I don't think that's fair to the traveling public,” he said. Most of the work is complete. What remains is drilling, blasting rock and crushing road material. The crushing operation is se...
--Medina Ingraham photo Medina Ingraham has re-opened the former LaCrosse service station as LaCrosse Auto Care. The business is open Monday through Friday. The station was previously operated by the late Ted Torgeson. The LaCrosse service station, formerly operated by the late Ted Torgeson, is back in business as LaCrosse Auto Care, LLC. Medina Ingraham, formerly of the Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls area, moved with her mother Melody Wise, a LaCrosse native, back to LaCrosse a couple of years ago,...
Precipitation total for November at the NRCS weather station in Colfax was 2.16 inches. The total was .52 inches short of normal precipitation for the month of November. The below-normal rainfall last month compares with the 5.42 total precipitation logged at the station for October. Average precipitation for October is 1.52 inches. The October total, believed to be a record at Colfax, put the new crop year 3.9 inches ahead of normal. The subsequent shortfall for November drops the crop year total to 3.38 inches above normal...
Representatives from five contractor firms gathered in county commissioners’ chambers Monday for the opening of bids for the 2017 Road Safety Project. The project went to the low bid from Frank Gurney, Inc., of Spokane Valley at $680,015. Bids ranged up to $1,311,311 from Pavement Service Control of Kennewick. The work is to be paid for with $750,000 from the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. County Public Works department staff will now review Gurney’s bid documents for appro...
Downtown Colfax was packed Thursday night for Winterfest activities which brought out a big crowd to see Santa, Christmas trees, the parade and fireworks. Val Gregory, Colfax unified executive director, reported the Winterfest parade had 20 official entries. The tree festival competition at The Center totaled 16 entries, and balloting in the contest will continue for about two weeks. The event also featured 26 vendors at four locations around town. One new vendor site was the Masonic Lodge building. Gregory credited different groups with...
Members of the Oakesdale volleyball team were grand marshals of the Colfax Winterfest parade Thursday night. The Oakesdale girls won the state 1B title at the SunDome in Yakima for the second straight year. Oakesdale also hosted the Colfax football team on their field for two games this season when the Colfax team was unable to use the Schmuck Park field because of the track construction project. Oakesdale athletes also competed on the Colfax football team this year, and Oakesdale softball players competed with the Colfax team last spring....
The third and final budget amendment for 2016 is now set to go before the county commissioners. The commissioners Monday set a hearing date for the proposed amendment. County Commissioner Art Swannack told the Gazette the amendment is mostly housekeeping and revenue. “It’s all pretty much positive, and we haven’t had anything new from the coroner yet,” he said. The coroner’s office reported to the commissioners that it is expected to make it through the end of the year with the funds it currently has. The amendment includes approxima...
–Don Marshall photo Oakesdale conducted a Christmas tree lighting and carol singing ceremony Sunday. Inspired by Dolores Haley, a member of the McCoy Valley Museum in Oakesdale, the event drew a crowd of celebrants on a chilly and windy Sunday afternoon at sunset. Dressed for the weather and supplied with song sheets and flashlights, they sang a variety of Christmas songs, ending in the traditional Silent Night. After the tree lighting the families adjourned to the museum for hot chocolate, c...
Port Properties and Development Manager Debbie Snell reported the pending sale of one Port building at Wilma has fallen through and closing date for sale of a second building has been extended. The two buildings up for sale, located at 1845 and 1847 Wilma Drive, are the last structures owned by the Port at Wilma. The sale of 1847 Wilma Drive fell through after the buyer declined to proceed with closing. The buyer gave the reason of dissatisfaction with the proposed terms of the site lease. Port properties at Wilma are leased to tenants who...
A hearing date was set Monday by the Board of County Commissioners for public comment on the application filed by Tom Kammerzell for re-classification of 113.6 acres of property. The property in question is a mitigation site which was developed along the South Fork of the Palouse River east of Colfax. The re-classification first came up in September when Kammerzell filed with the county assessor’s office to have the land re-classified from agricultural land to open space. “It won’t meet the farm and ag current use because it’s no longer...
NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the following Whitman County roads/bridges will be closed to vehicular traffic as part of the Sand Road Reconstruction, County Road Project No. 9060-5, pursuant to R.C.W. 47.48.01, for the time periods specified below: County Road No. 9060, the Sand Road from milepost 2. 90 three hundredths of a mile west of the Jennings Road intersection, milepost 2.93, toward the west to milepost 2.53, from Dec. 9, 2016 tlu·ough Dec. 23, 2016. BY ORDER THE COUNTY ENGINEER UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF...
Mayor John Jaeger and the Tekoa City Council have decided to run their $50,000 street levy proposal again in February after it failed, for the second time, in the Nov. 8 General Election. Final count for the proposal was 58.7 percent approval with 202 yes and 142 no. The proposal was intended to pay for city road maintenance, including streetlights. “It’s streets and lights, come on,” said Jaeger. “If you’re not gonna vote for it, or not vote, tell us why. We just need an answer and we’re not ge...
-—Janet Leifer photo Santa made a stop at The Center in Colfax for Winterfest on Dec. 1. Here, he keeps his composure as Tru (left) and Range Heaton, daughter and son of Justin and Katy Heaton of LaCrosse, end up in the classic Santa photo album....
After a busy weekend in Colfax, Oakesdale, Rosalia, St. John and Endicott, Santa will stop this weekend at LaCrosse. Santa is booked to make a stop at 10 a.m. in LaCrosse where he will appear at the Gathering Place. Pictures with Santa will be provided free by the LaCrosse Business Group. Santa will be on hand from 10 a.m. until noon. Every child will receive a free stuffed animal, courtesy of LaCrosse Community Outreach, and a candy cane. The LaCrosse Library will offer materials to make Christmas ornaments in a free holiday craft session....
